


Always

by ritsuko



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Feels, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of Rape, Promises, Shippy, will they or won't they
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-29
Updated: 2014-12-29
Packaged: 2018-03-04 05:30:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2954069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ritsuko/pseuds/ritsuko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin is captured by bandits, and Arthur can't imagine a life without him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Always

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Emeraldawn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emeraldawn/gifts).



> Christmas stocking for my dear Emmy~ Enjoy, hon!

Arthur stared at the form huddled in his bed and had to look away. Merlin looked so small and defeated. His brow was sweat covered, forehead wrinkled with tension. He was lost in the throes of some unseen dream or nightmare, and considering what he had been through, it was probably more hellish than Arthur can even imagine.

The bandits had snagged him on the way back from a peace mission to a neighboring kingdom, right after Arthur had yelled at him to go gather firewood and make them dinner. When he hadn't shown back up, everyone had worried. 

The ransom note had been nailed to a tree, a torn piece of Merlin's tunic with demands scrawled in blood. It had made the King see red, want to find these men and rip out their throats.

There was never any question. Merlin was worth more than all the gold, all the jewels in the treasury. He'd sent Gwaine and Elyan back to the castle, and the rest he'd made spread out to be leery of another attack. Needless to say, the exchange didn't go well. When Arthur had seen the battered, unclothed body of his manservant, he'd seen red. As soon as the exchange had been made, he had almost ordered his men to attack. But he hadn't wanted to be seen as less honorable than the thieves that had done this to him. Besides, all that had mattered was Merlin's safety.

Gaius had turned as white as a ghost upon seeing Merlin's state, which had only made Arthur feel more hollow. "He will have to rest for quite a long time. He's been badly wounded."

Arthur didn't press, but nodded. It was all his fault. He was always treating Merlin like a slave, giving too much of an advantage to be a royal pain than to show the other man that he appreciated the things he did.

"We won't be able to move him much," Gaius continued, "So if he can be brought to our quarters-"

"That won't be necessary." Arthur clipped him. "He can stay in mine until he is better. I'm sure the air and light will do him a world of good."

Gaius raised an eyebrow, but only nodded in response.

As soon as the man had helped get him settled, he had rushed back to his quarters to make a tincture or balm or some such thing. Honestly, Arthur hadn't been paying attention. Instead, he watched Merlin with worry, finally settling on the edge of the bed. Before he knew it, he was stroking that raven hair from the other man's brow. He swallowed hard. Just what would he do without Merlin?

He prayed that his manservant would be okay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Something bitter being forced down his throat._

_Hands, everywhere. Touching his face, his chest, his loins._

_Crying out as his clothes were ripped from him._

_Screaming through a bloody gag, but no magic would come._

_Something pressing, prodding. . ._

Merlin bolted upright in bed, shaking hard. He felt confused, disoriented, because the room he was in was not his own, though it wasn't unfamiliar at all. Wearily, he looked around Arthur's room and wondered how he came to be there.

"Merlin?" Arthur's voice came from his side, and he stared at him with wild eyes, breathing heavily. "You're in the castle, Merlin, you're safe."

Arthur's words didn't calm the fast beating of his heart. It felt like any moment he was going to shake apart. He opened and closed his mouth several times, but no sounds came out.

The king moved closer. "I should not have been so callous with you. I treated you badly, when you do so much for us. If we hadn't found you. . ."

Panic seized Merlin's throat, and it feels like the room is going to spin. He didn't want to remember rough hands and smelly pelts and thick liquid on his legs. "What, sorry that you treated me badly and then I got kidnapped? It's a dangerous life to be your manservant, but you needn't worry about me. I know the dangers. It was better me than one of the knights, I have far lesser worth than-"

Merlin's rambling stopped abruptly as Arthur threw his arms around him, and he could feel the blonde trembling nearly as hard as he had been.

"Don't you say that." Arthur demanded into his hair, voice rough and ready to break. "Don't you ever compare your life to any of the knights. Do you hear me? The are trained for battle, and they can hold their own. You, you follow where ever I tell you to. You do so much." A choked sound comes from his throat. "You've been with me so long, seen so many things. You were with me when my father died, when Morgana. . . don't you ever presume to understand what you mean to me! Do you understand?"

If not for the fact that it was Arthur, his king and so much more, he would have struggled in that grasp. But even as he shook he found himself relaxing into the safety of the king's arms. 

_Two sides of the same coin._

"I'm sorry, Arthur. I understand." Delicately, he raised his arms to wrap around the other man. "Please, I'm okay as long as I have you."

It was the truth. No matter what torments. He had a job, a duty to Arthur. It had become so much more than that.

The shudders wracking the other man subsided, and Merlin soothingly stroked his hands down the blonde's back. He pulled away slightly and cupped Merlin's cheek, staring deeply into his eyes. 

For a moment, Merlin thought the impossible was going to happen, and he swallowed. 

He'd thought about Arthur many times, not only in how aggravating and spoiled he could be, but also how brave and chivalrous and charming was when not being an utter clot-pole. His breath hitched. His eyes fluttered closed.

Merlin could feel the warmth of Arthur's breath against his lips, and he almost sighed at the sensation. "Then we must make a pact." The king stated, licking his lips. "We shall always stay together."

"Yes, Arthur, I promise." Merlin whispered, the cruelties of his capture forgotten for the moment. 

It was almost a shock when Arthur laid his lips upon Merlin's, soft and chaste. He couldn't help but shudder under the implication. "There. It's sealed." Arthur stated huskily, and Merlin opened his eyes to stare deeply into Arthur's own.

There was a cough from the doorway, and Arthur guiltily jumped back. Gaius was standing with a clay pot of some sort in his hands. "Forgive me, your highness, but the salve. . ."

"Yes, of course. See to it Gaius." Arthur stated cooly, even though he seemed to be blushing five shades of red. "I have things to attend to."

In all, Arthur looked as if he didn't want to leave at all, but in the end, he tromped out, casting one last look back at Merlin as if he was being tortured by leaving.

Merlin tried to quell the butterflies in his stomach, but this new side of Arthur was as exciting as it was dizzying. He had no idea what it meant for them, but he only had hope for the future.


End file.
